THE owner of the Scotch Malt Whisky Society has snapped up the former chief executive of Douglas Laing & Co, the venerable whisky blender and bottler.

Chris Leggat, who had been chief executive of Glasgow-based Douglas Laing since 2018, will join The Artisanal Spirits Company as business development director in June.

His appointment was announced as Artisanal also confirmed Billy McCarter as its new chief financial officer. Mr McCarter had been holding the post of interim finance director since predecessor Andrew Dane was promoted to chief executive in January. He is a qualified accountant with extensive financial experience in the whisky and spirits industries, including around eight years with Diageo.

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Artisanal chairman Mark Hunter said: “ASC is delighted to have been able to promote Billy McCarter to the role of CFO and to the board from our existing, strong pool of internal talent. Following the promotion of Andrew Dane to the position of CEO earlier in 2023 the internal appointment of Billy demonstrates the strength in depth of the talent within ASC.

“Since joining the group in February 2022, Billy has demonstrated his value to the organisation and has driven forward leadership of the finance function, whilst demonstrating very strong analytical and leadership skills. He is an excellent addition to the board.

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“We also look forward to welcoming Chris Leggat to the executive team who has highly relevant experience in the spirits industry, and whisky segment in particular. I, together with the other directors, very much look forward to working closely with both Billy and Chris as ASC progresses its stated strategy to unlock its significant future growth opportunity."

Artisanal will announce an annual general meeting trading update for the four months to April 30 on May 24.

In March, the company officially opened Masterton Bond, a new bottling plant, cask storage, fulfilment, and distribution facility in Uddingston, following a £2.5 million investment.